The Information Diet
Evaluation of sources is an important part of the research process. It is important to find a balance between credibility and relevancy. If you're using outdated, unreliable, or simply non-factual information and sources, your project (e.g. paper or speech) isn't going to meet your professor's expectations.
Sometimes you can tell if a resource is bad pretty quickly. For instance, would you use the National Enquirer as a credible resource? Most likely not. However, it could be a relevant source if your topic was about sensationalism in the media.
It may help to think of information the same way you think about food. Some foods are healthier than others. For your research and information "diet", you'll want sources, like academic articles, newspaper articles, or business reports. Use sparingly, sources such as unfounded claims, sensationalism, etc.
Image credit: Our Information Diet. (2013, October 7). The Ecquire Blog. Retrieved from http://ecquire.com/blog/our-information-diet/
